Details

Oxfam
partners in Guatemala have recently
received death threats – and we need your
voice, now, to ensure that these threats
don’t come to fruition.

The work Oxfam does affects people’s lives daily
– but the work is often dangerous, and
sometimes when our partners speak up in
defense of poor communities, they are putting their lives on the line.

Two
of Oxfam’s outspoken partners at CALAS
(Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal
Action) who work daily on mining and oil
issues, received death threats three days
ago – and we need to get the public eye on
this case immediately, so that they have a
level of protection.

Violence
and tensions in Guatemala have intensified
in the run-up to the country’s
presidential elections on September 11. Our
partners at CALAS have been working to
protect the rights of indigenous peoples
and to expose corruption in a natural gas
project.

The Executive Director of CALAS, Yuri Melini, was seriously wounded in 2008 during an assassination attempt.

Large-scale
mining operations have been the source of
protest, violence, and human rights
violations since the early 2000s. Oxfam
partner CALAS has sought to promote
informed debate about the costs and
benefits of oil and mining in the country
and to promote greater respect for the
rights of indigenous communities – and now
they are under threat for their stand.

Here
at Oxfam, we are in awe of the strong and
steadfast stand taken by these human rights
activists – but now, more than ever, they
need our support. “I won’t be intimidated
by these threats,” Melini said in a
statement. “I will continue the struggle
to defend human rights and protect
Guatemala’s environment.”